When I think of my favorite activities, cooking has never made the list. However, over the last few weeks, my free-lance work as a medical consultant has been a bit sluggish. This mandated some serious tightening of our dining out / take-out budget, and so I’ve found myself in the kitchen a bit more than usual. Cooking at home is soooo much less expensive that eating out! Plus, we’ve found that cooking at home has been much more nutritious and satisfying. We have the ultimate control over what we’re putting in our bodies. We’re eating more veggies, saving money, and feeling better than we have in a long time!

With my increased presence in the kitchen, I’ve discovered that I actually have favorite kitchen tools. They are relatively inexpensive and super simple, as I tend to hate giant, complex machines that have 98 parts to assemble then clean. Do not ask me to EVER use a Cuisinart food processor. It makes me angry.

StrongRabbit’s Favorite Cooking Tools

Here are my top 5 cooking tools and why I like ‘em, besides the fact that you spend just $100 bucks total for all 5 combined. We’d spend that easily on just 4 to 6 restaurant / take-out meals depending on the venue.

A high-quality knife. I never knew the importance of this until I met the Mullet. I grew up in a family that used dull paring knives for cutting up fruits and veggies –no cutting board involved. Hold the knife in one hand and the object to be sliced in the other. Not the safest technique! Needless to say, the Mullet was appalled at my primitive skills, and surprised that I still had all my digits. He quickly showed me the superior safety and efficiency of a good cutting board and a sharp knife. Here’s the knife we use umpteen times a day. $69 at Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Wusthof-Gourmet-7-Inch-Hollow-Cut-Santoku/dp/B0000DJYF6

A glass lemon juicer / squeezer. Why it’s on my top 5—I really don’t like using bottled lemon juice in recipes. It just has an overly strong, antiseptic taste to me. We use this lemon juicer ALL THE TIME when recipes call for citrus juice–lemons, limes, and even oranges. It’s a great tool for extracting all the juice possible and it even separates the seeds from the juice. Can’t remember where we got ours, but I found one like it online for $4 at Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dgarden&field-keywords=glass+lemon+juicer

So, what are your favorite cooking tools? Please share! And please tell me what you want me to post about next!!

Amy Beausang, a.k.a. Strongrabbit, is Mrs. Mullet, mother to Baby Mullet, cousin of Cousin Mullet (not literally, but in practice), and a Doctor of Pharmacy, certified nutritionist, certified personal trainer, and all-around awesome person. Basically, she’s super qualified to help us figure out what to eat and drink in order to stay healthy and in tip top form while paddling.